


As the World Burned

by Dragon_With_Problems



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders Angst, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders-centric, Dragon Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:47:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24368311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragon_With_Problems/pseuds/Dragon_With_Problems
Summary: "I thought I was your hero""You are!"But a nod from Janus told Roman everything, so Roman ran to the imagination. To hide from them, to hide away from the world.Patton followed after, but found something unexpected. Patton seeks help from the others to save Roman
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Deceit Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 56
Kudos: 129





	1. Wastelands

Roman had gone straight to the imagination after he left. He didn't bother checking into his room, he couldn't bear to see the regal colors right now.

When he first arrived he had been surrounded by life. Small deer had run around him ducking in and out from behind trees. The trees around him had vines decorated with flowers curling around their trunks. He could hear birds chirping and the splashing of a nearby pond. The smell of spring filled the air.

As he walked through the forest he began to notice it changing. The bird songs were quiet and then gone. The trees began to lose their leaves. Then the animals disappeared. Soon the ponds and rivers dried up. Before Roman knew it, he was alone surrounded by nothing.

He stood on the soft grass in the imagination. It was all that was left. What was once a beautiful forest was now a simple field. No flowers or trees anymore. Just grass as far as the eye could see. It was driving Roman crazy.

He stomped against the ground. Nothing changed.

  
He marched around jumping. Nothing.

Collapsing on the ground he stared up at the grey sky. He couldn't even find the sun behind all of the awful clouds. Roman pulled at the slightly yellow grass. Handfuls of grass and yet nothing. He screamed wishing the world would change. Nothing.

He didn't know how long he sat there screaming and shouting. Roman cursed the world. He cursed Janus for manipulating him, he cursed Patton for lying, and he cursed Thomas for betraying him. Worst of all, Roman cursed himself.

Roman cursed how stupid he was to let himself get caught up in Janus's deceitful flattering. He cursed how naive he was for letting one person define him, and for following that definition blindly. He cursed himself for letting one measly remark become a part of him and believing it would always stay that way. He hated the way he was. He couldn't stand to be alone with himself, alone with his thoughts.

Roman stood up and began walking, he didn't know where he was going. He kept glancing up hoping the sky had changed. Maybe it was sunset? No, the sun hung above him covered by grey clouds. Maybe it would start raining? But the imagination didn't work the way Roman always dreamed it had. He wished for something interesting, but couldn't find it.

When Roman was far enough away from the entrance to the imagination he began creating. Not something he particularly liked to create, but something he needed to create. Something to let hid emotions out. It always helped.  
Roman changed himself into a dragon. A great red dragon. He lifted himself above the world and began to fly around. Desperately looking for something. What he saw wasn't what he wanted.

Patton stood at the entrance to the imagination. He usually enjoyed the grand archways or paths through enchanted woods, but today held no such pleasures the imagination was bare. Something unfamiliar to Patton.

"Roman?!" Patton called out in the great fields. "Kiddo, are you here?"

Patton walked through the empty fields, growing more and more discouraged as time passed with no sign of Roman.

Patton kicked at the ground. A little bit of dirt and grass was thrown out of place. Was that all was here anymore? Some dirt and grass? All Patton could see for miles was just that. It was strange, something he had never seen before, a bare imagination.

Soon Patton began to wonder about the implications this may have on Roman. Was Roman okay? Had he run out of ideas? Was he just exhausted? Was he burnt out?

Patton was so lost in thought he barely heard the flapping of wings. Before long, he saw the large beast flying toward him. Patton didn't exactly recognize the dragon, he had never interacted with it before, but he had heard Roman speak of this dragon who terrorized him while he was alone. Patton briefly wondered if that meant the dragon was here with Roman.

"Hey..." Patton choked out as the dragon landed in front of him. It bared its teeth growled at the sight of him. "Listen if you want me to go-"

The dragon roared as it began backing Patton toward the exit of the imagination.

"Listen, buddy, if you could just tell me where Roman is I'd be glad to leave you alone"

The dragon to move closer to Patton. Patton was panicking as he tried to figure out what to do. Should he stay to find Roman? Or should he leave to save himself? Thinking over what Janus had just talked to him about, he concluded. He wanted to help, but he couldn't alone. With that Patton left to find reinforcement.

Roman didn't quite regret his behavior. He knew Patton would leave when he saw him as a dragon, and the last thing he needed was for the other sides to find out he could shape-shift. Although after Patton's breakdown perhaps it wasn't so bad.

Roman lifted himself into the air, he looked down at the dying imagination and knew he could only do one thing. He set it on fire. He flew faster than he ever had before. He landed on the ground made designs with the fire and flew away. Soon trees began to show up again in the imagination, and Roman burnt them down. Although he would never tell a soul, Roman rather liked to watch it burn. It was like starting over, a blank canvas for him to work with. Something that he didn't hate like the boring skies of what the imagination was.

As the world burned it grew. The sun began to set creating a beautiful gradient in the sky. Rays of light were caught on the leaves in forests that had begun to rise again. The once empty fields were now covered in flowers rising from the ashes. Mountains rose in the distance, a stream ran towards the fire putting it out.

Roman stood at the top of a mountain. He watched the world around him burst with life. The flames he had created to destroy were dying so that the world would live. It was beautiful.


	2. Twilight Wonders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton attempts to rally the troops, but the troops don't get along. They accidentally split into two groups, the Watchful Wanderers and the Apologetic Acquaintances. One group finds a dragon and the other group doesn't

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya'll are in for a ride, when I finished writing this I thought it was 1,800 words at most, but it's actually 2,700 woops! I got a little carried away, but I like it so we're sticking with it

Patton didn't know what he was doing. He had gathered Logan, Virgil, and Janus in the common area of the mindscape to tell them about what he had seen in the imagination, but things hadn't gone according to plan.

"Why is HE here!" Virgil demanded, jabbing a finger at Janus. "I thought he already caused enough issues the last time we saw him."

"Virgil, relax," Logan said, eyes shifting between the two sides. "Janus has recently enlightened-"

"Janus?!" Virgil's voice was filled with hatred. 

"Why yes, that is my name after all. Is something bothering you Virgil?" Janus taunted Virgil, who's response was a hiss.

"Bothering me?! You are much more than a 'bother'"

"Oh really? Then what am I, Virgil? Please tell me, I'd love to hear."

"Can you two please stop, you are both-" Logan started.

"Logan dear, this really doesn't concern you," Janus ignored Logan again.

"I've had quite enough of you Janus-"

"At least someone around here has a brain," Virgil snapped.

They continued bickering with each other. Hateful remarks from one side to the other. They were all so desperate to be listened to, but they weren't the best at expressing it. 

Janus was the first to shout, Virgil and Logan seemed to be ganging upon him. Logan followed suit snapping at Janus for every time he'd tried to silence the logical side. Virgil didn't really shout, but his voice was deeper and darker. There was an echo and his eyes were aflame.

"Everybody stop!" Patton yelled at the bickering sides. "I... I wanted you all here to help."

"Help with what exactly?" Logan asked.

"Whatever it is, if he's involved I don't want anything to do with it," Virgil snapped, his eyes stayed focussed on Janus the whole time.

"Guys please! I'm worried about Roman.." Patton said. 

Janus looked at the ground and sighed, fidgeting with his gloves. Something that didn't go unnoticed by Virgil.

"What did you do to him?!" Virgil hissed at Janus. Janus opened his mouth to retort but was cut off. 

"Will you two stop?" Logan asked eyes narrowing. "This isn't about you two, it's about Roman so why don't both of you just calm-"

"You're fighting too! Why.. Why are you always defending them?! You NEVER take my side! You apparently decided Deceit was cool behind my back and now Roman's in trouble because of it!" Virgil huffed his attention now on Logan.

"I'm not taking anybody's-"

"Bullshit! I am sick and tired of your bullshit! You- you never care about what I think! I told you not to let Deceit or his friends stay around and look at what happened! I'm done. What happened to Roman, I'm fixing it myself."

"Virgil-" Patton tried, but the look Virgil gave him sent shivers down his spine. He and Virgil hadn't always been friends, but Patton had never been so terrified of him. "The imagination is bare.." Patton managed to choke out. "Except for a dragon. I.. I think that maybe.. maybe it took Roman or something. I don't know.."

"Great," Virgil sunk out.

"He wasn't going to be much help anyway," Janus told Patton.

"Actually," Logan interjected, "if you two are planning to go on some outlandish quest in order to 'rescue' Roman, Virgil would be very important. Dare I say, essential."

"Oh, no..." Patton muttered to himself.

"Virgil is not essential to some quest. He's more likely to complain the whole time making him no more than a nuisance," Janus rolled his eyes at Logan's remarks.

"No. Virgil may complain about being there, but that doesn't make what he contributes worthless. Without Virgil you are much more likely to run straight into danger. Virgil is who would stop you from stupid reckless actions. If you're planning on endangering yourselves you need someone who is aware of the danger you've created."

"Virgil isn't the only side capable of protecting. I myself am quite capable of keeping us safe."

"You can keep yourself, and perhaps a few others safe, but that doesn't mean we don't need Virgil. Virgil is constantly finding ways to keep not just himself, but the others around him safe."

"But, we have you Logan. I'm the only one here who's at all reckless, so maybe, I'd hate to say it, but maybe we don't need Virgil...? If there are you and Janus that is.." Patton was playing with the sleeves of his cardigan while he spoke, too ashamed of what he was saying to look at the sides in front of him.

"I can not substitute for anxiety, I'm in no way capable of the fast-paced decision making involved with that role. Since neither of you cares, I'll help Virgil," Logan sunk out as well.

"Well it's just us then I guess.." Patton gave a weak smile to Janus. "Unless of course, you're still too mad at Roman to help."

"No I- if it will help Thomas I'm all for it," Janus said. He didn't need to tell Patton all of his reasons for helping. He knows he owes Roman an apology, many in fact, and maybe helping him would be enough for Roman to forgive Janus. Janus knew that wasn't likely, Roman was too stubborn for that, but maybe...

"Should we go then?"

"Let's."

When Virgil arrived in the imagination it wasn't anything like Patton had described. It was full of life.

Truth be told Virgil often went to the imagination to calm down. He was used to a brand new forest every time he entered. One thing he was not used to though, was night. It was never night time when he visited the imagination. Now he could see the sun setting through the trees, he feared that soon there would be no light.

Walking through the new forest that Roman had created was nice despite the darkness. Virgil could hear the grave path grind under his feet. Fireflies swirled around him lighting his path. Crickets chirped beside him echoing in the great forest. There was peace in the world.

Virgil stopped when we remembered why he was there. Roman was in trouble. Admittedly he wasn't quite sure he believed whatever Patton told him anymore.

Virgil picked some blueberries from a nearby bush and plopped them into his mouth. 'They're not poisoned' he reassured himself, 'Roman wouldn't do that'. What if he did though?

If Roman was in trouble, would the berries be poisonous? Maybe this whole world was just an illusion. Could there be something hiding in this enchanted forest? Maybe the dragon or whatever was trying to hurt all of them. Could sides die? Virgil wasn't sure but he didn't plan on finding out. 

Virgil spit out the berries and stood up. He knew his way around the imagination better than anyone, besides Roman of course, he knew where he needed to go.

If someone were to hide Roman they would keep him in that castle. Right? Or maybe to confuse Virgil they would make it seem like Roman was in a castle when really he was just in the forest somewhere. Even worse, what if Remus had taken Roman to his side of the imagination?

Virgil was suddenly running through the once tranquil woods desperate to find some clue as to what happened. He found a clearing covered in flowers.

They were so pretty, a full rainbow lit up only by the faint moonlight. Despite himself Virgil cautiously stepped into the field. He felt uneasy doing so and he didn't know why. Until he saw it.

The red dragon stood on a mountain in the distance blocking the moon with it's briefly plunging everything around Virgil into darkness. Virgil wasn't sure it saw him, that is until it tilted it's head up, staring directly at him. Virgil slowly began to back away hoping the dragon would move on, but it raised its wings ready for takeoff.

Virgil bolted back into the woods not knowing where he was going. What if the dragon burnt the trees down? Maybe he should have just sucked it up and worked with Janus after all. 

"Virgil?!" Virgil recognized the voice as Logan. He paused and whipped his head around trying to find him in the dimly lit forest.

"Logan!" Virgil ran over to him, huffing from exhaustion. "Patton, Patton wasn't kidding about that whole... that whole like dragon thing.."

"Is there actually a dragon here? That doesn't seem like too much of a threat, this is Roman's imagination surely it's not bad?"

"Well, I guess in theory, but uh... Roman doesn't exactly control the imagination. The stuff that shows up is less what he wants and more just, whatever happens to cross his mind I guess. Like, if Roman were to think about a princess kidnapped by a dragon, that might actually happen. That's my guess anyway. Roman accidentally imagined himself getting kidnapped and now it's our problem."

"That's quite interesting. May I ask why you know so much about the imagination?"

"Oh well, I come here when I get super anxious, it a- it calms me down."

"Ah, I see, well you certainly aren't very calm at this moment."

"Can you blame me?! I just got chased by a dragon?!" As if on cue Virgil heard the dragon flying above them.

"If you-" Virgil shushed Logan and pulled him closer to him in the shadows. "What are you-"

"The dragon," Virgil whispered pointing up at the sky. Logan nodded his head and moved closer to Virgil.

"If you think the dragon is holding Roman hostage," Logan began, but Virgil could hardly focus on what he was saying. 

They were so close that Virgil could feel Logan's breathe on his face. Virgil stared up at Logan's face while he spoke. He could barely make out Logan's face in the darkness. The sound of Logan's voice was soothing and Virgil trusted it. They stood under a large tree, Virgil could feel the bark on his back. Virgil wanted to grab Logan by the tie and pull him closer. So close that they- wait no! No Virgil didn't he was just going crazy in the imagination. Roman's domain was getting to him. That was all.

"Virgil are you even listening to me?" Logan demanded.

"Oh- um... of course! The a.. the dragon has Roman so we..."

"Should follow the dragon to find Roman," Logan said, trying and failing to hide his annoyance.

"Right..." Virgil slid away from the tree and Logan. Looking back up at the sky. He could only tell where the dragon was by where the stars were not "It's going that way."

"Then we shall follow it, from a safe distance of course. Chances are the dragon has enhanced senses and we should be wary."

"Yep... let's follow a dragon.."

Roman was certain he had seen Virgil. He felt bad for scaring him, it wasn't his intention. For a moment there Roman had completely forgotten he was a dragon.

He flew over the forest searching for Virgil inside. He caught a glimpse of something that looked like Logan, but by the time he looked back at it, it was gone. Roman assumed it was just a trick of the light or lack thereof.

Roman didn't really want to deal with any of the other sides right now. He came to the conclusion that the best way to avoid the sides, was to stay a dragon and scare them out of the imagination. None of the others were very daring so they would stay away from him and he could be alone.

Perhaps this whole dragon thing wasn't so bad. Especially when Roman could soar in the air like this. Stars above him twinkled and he could see the deep blues and purples of faraway galaxies. The cool breeze brushed against his scaled face as he flew. It was a wonderful feeling, a feeling of freedom. He could get used to this.

He stared at the far off castle in the distance. Dragons liked castle right? That didn't matter, Roman liked castles. He was sure that he could at least live inside the walls as a dragon. Away from the others, somewhere he could figure out what to do with himself.

Roman decided that right now he should sleep. A meadow full of flowers was below him. He couldn't see the colors from where he was. 

Roman flew down to the flowers beneath him. He curled up on the soft ground. His tailed whipped some of the flowers onto him, but he wasn't complaining

"Why did it stop?" Virgil demanded. He was watching the dragon from the sanctity of the trees.

"It's resting, and we should too," Logan advised, looking around for resources.

"What if, what if it knows we're following it and is just trying to draw us in? What if it wants us to sleep?! We can't-"

"Virgil, we need to rest," a firefly landed on Logan's shoulder. 

"How are we even going to do that? We'd have to leave the imagination and then we would lose track of the dragon!"

"The imagination seems to be looking out for us," Logan said guiding Virgil toward a small cottage out in the middle of nowhere.

"Someone else is probably living there," Virgil said.

Logan walked up to the cottage and knocked on the door despite Virgil's quiet cries of protest.

No one answered, so Logan opened the door.

"L! You can't just walk into some stranger's cottage! That's how Philip git kidnapped!" Virgil ran after Logan, who was already in the house.

"No one lives here Virgil, it's just decoration for the 'aesthetic' I suppose. Wait, who's Philip?"

"Oh just the.. prince from Sleeping Beauty, anyway.." Virgil cautiously stepped into the small cottage. He realized it was the cottage from Sleeping Beauty.

Logan explored the house for just a short while, it was rather small. There appeared to simply be the first floor with the kitchen and living room, and a second floor. Virgil didn't know what was upstairs, but Logan was investigating.

"There's only one bed I guess," Logan sighed as he stumbled down the stairs. Maybe it wasn't from Sleeping Beauty after all.

"Oh..." Virgil responded. That was a problem. "Are we gonna have to.. share?"

"I don't think that will be necessary, I can sleep on the couch down here," Logan offered. Of course, there was a couch, why hadn't Virgil thought of that. 

"No, it's fine I can stay on the couch," Virgil began to walk over but Logan blocked him.

"You will feel much more secure upstairs where something or someone can't get to you."

"I.. I guess you're right. Good night then... I guess.." Virgil walked up the stairs feeling stupid, and not quite himself. Something was definitely off today. 

"Good night Virgil," Logan called from downstairs.

Virgil face planted on the bed. It was softer than he expected, but he still tossed and turned for what felt like hours.

His thoughts ran rampant. What if Patton and Janus showed up to interrupt his and Logan's adventure? What if Roman wasn't okay? What if something much worse than kidnapping had happened? What if the dragon woke up, and realized Virgil and Logan were there? What if the dragon hurt one of them? What if the dragon had already hurt Roman? Was it drawing them in to end each of them? Could sides even die?

"You're still awake aren't you," Virgil had been so caught up in his own thoughts he hadn't heard Logan come upstairs.

"I can't stop thinking," Virgil told him. "I don't know what to do."

"Do you want me to stay with you?" Logan sat down next to Virgil in the bed.

Virgil wasn't sure. He knew that he'd probably have an easier time sleep with Logan there. He could tell him all of his irrational thoughts and Logan would prove to him why none of that were true. Virgil feared that Logan being there may cause him to over-overthink stuff. It occurred to Virgil that he was probably overthinking things right now. 

"If you don't mind," he decided.

Logan laid down in bed with Virgil and asked about what was keeping him up. Virgil told him most of his worries for Roman and themselves. Just as Virgil had thought, Logan assured him that things would be alright if they kept their heads on. 

So the two eventually slept. Virgil wrapped in Logan's arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.. That was kinda wild huh? This was supposed to be a roceit fic and yet here we are two chapters in and analogical has already had to deal with the "there's only ONE bed?!!!" trope and roceit hasn't even talked yet lol. Honestly I was planning on the gang (Logan, Patton, Virgil, and Janus) all looking for Roman together, but Virgil got waaaay more angry than I was anticipating and welp here we are. Tell me what you thought about this chapter below! (Also the flowers in the field will come up later so what do you think they are? 👀)


	3. A little Bit Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Woops, Janus and Patton got lost, luckily they both find a 'friend' to help them. Also the nerd bros are confused and stressed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My chapter summaries are a mess lol. This chapter isn't too cray long, I think upcoming chapters will be longer because this is probably gonna be the last one I try to write in a day, I don't wanna burn myself out, but I wanted a good few chapters to start with.

Patton and Janus had arrived in the imagination while it was pitch dark. Patton stumbled around confused at first, where had this forest come from? Janus suggested they come back when it was morning again so that they could see where they were going. Patton had reluctantly agreed to wait until morning

Janus would never admit it, but he hated the dark. He didn't necessarily fear the dark, but he liked to know where everything around him was (He had some bad experiences with Remus). Janus especially hated that his already less-than-great eyesight was about 1000 times worse in the dark, so he refused to work in such conditions.

Janus and Patton met up in the imagination the next day, the sun was shining and last night's eerie woods were now a gorgeous forest buzzing with life. Quite literally Janus thought as he swatted at a bee near him.

"So, where are we going?" Patton asked Janus, looking around at the forest.

"Well I assumed you had a plan since you tried to get everyone here," Janus hesitantly walked over to Patton.

"Oh, I never really thought that far ahead. I figured we'd get everyone here and work it out from there, but I guess that didn't work huh?" 

"It didn't, but we have to work with what we got. You saw a dragon right?"

"Yeah, I think so... but since the imagination is full again maybe the dragon is gone?"

"I highly doubt that, if Roman's side of the imagination works anything like Remus's, creatures stay around forever. However unfortunate that might be."

"Well ya know may- wait! What if Remus took Roman?! You said that Roman hates dragons so maybe Remus created the dragon to get Roman angry, and he kidnapped him!" Patton began to run through the forest trying to find the river that divides the imagination.

Janus tried running after him but lost sight of the moral side in the forest. Now he was alone.

Janus was torn between looking for Patton to stop him from getting hurt or trying to help Roman.

If he left to find Patton he could end up in Remus territory, and that was never a good thing, but if he didn't find him Patton would probably end up hurting himself. Patton may get mad at him as well, and Janus could not have that. Patton was the only light side willing to work with him (Logan seemed pretty mad about the whole Virgil thing). As Janus considered it though, he figured Patton wasn't capable of being angry at anyone.

If Janus left to find Roman he would probably end up lost. More lost than already was that is. If he found Roman on his own he may be able to apologize, for real. If Janus was being honest, which wasn't as rare of an occurrence as others may think, he would rather go after Roman than Patton.

It wasn't that he necessarily wanted to see Roman more than he did Patton (though that was probably the case), he'd just rather go out on his own. Finding Patton meant he'd have to keep track of himself and the much more reckless side. Janus didn't need any of that, besides he'd much rather apologize to Roman on his own.

It occurred to Janus that this wasn't normal behavior, for him at least. He never cared this much about what someone else was feeling, why was Roman so special. Perhaps it was because Roman was such an important part of Thomas, maybe he realized he had pushed things too far with Roman. 

One thought that Janus buried deep within himself, was that he quite enjoyed flirting with Roman. Not exactly the way he was doing it before though. He liked making slick remarks that Roman laughed at. He liked flattering him just for the sake of doing so. Janus enjoyed his interactions with Roman, all of those before his most recent of course. A part of him hated how he had used flattery to make Roman side with him because now Roman would never trust a word from his mouth. Roman would never trust him.

Janus brushed those thoughts away as swiftly as they had arrived. It was rather easy really, him being denial and all.

Janus quickly decided that Patton wasn't his problem, and wandered around the forest alone, he refused to accept he had no idea where he was going. He kept moving until he came to a field of bright yellow flowers. The flowers were nice, sure, but the dragon laying in the center of the field was less than ideal.

Patton was in a meadow before he realized Janus was no longer with him. Patton considered going back for Janus, but he could see the river that divided Roman and Remus's sides of the imagination. He had to continue, he wished he hadn't involved Janus to begin with. Then he might not have been so alone right now.

Patton made his way towards the river. He stood on the edge of the river, staring into the water. He wasn't sure how he was going to cross the river. Right now Patton wasn't sure he wanted to cross the river.

On the half closer to him the river was filled with life. Small fish danced around in the river, weaving in between plants. The other half of the river was full of fish bones. The water was murky so Patton couldn't see much else.

"Whatcha looking at there Pat?" Patton jumped at the sound of Remus's voice from behind him.

"Why are you-" Patton started.

"Why am I here? It's the imagination, I belong here, the better question is, why are you here?"

"I was uh... looking for Roman."

"Well you're never gonna find him on that side of the imagination, he never goes over there," Remus gestured across the river.

Across the river was fried. Everything looked like it had been set on fire. There were dead animals littered about and a single scorched tree. It was truly horrifying.

"If Roman doesn't go over there, why are you here? That part seems like more of your domain." 

"Good question, usually Roman's caught me by now. He's probably out pouting somewhere. He was pretty angry yesterday."

"You don't know where he is? I thought you might have kidnapped him or something..."

"Ooh, that's a good idea! I haven't kidnapped anyone in a while. I'll have to do that once he's more manageable."

"No no no, do not- wait more manageable? Is something wrong with Roman now?"

"Like I would know! I just assumed since I came into the imagination and he had set everything on fire again, of course, I'm not complaining I love a good burning, but I was in the middle of creating a war! How am I supposed to do that with my kingdoms burnt to the ground?! All of the citizens are dead which means I have to start completely from scratch! That's why I came over here in the first place, it's payback time."

"Set everything on fire? How did he..."

"Oh you know when he gets all angsty so he turns into that weird dragon thing and he runs around causing chaos. Honestly it's when he's at his best, but he always tries to light me on fire when I talk to him. He's not very good at it though, if you've seen him it's almost like he isn't trying."

"He's the dragon!" Patton exclaimed, earning him a confused look from Remus.

"Well, duh..." Remus shrugged. "I thought since you guys are all such great friends you would have known."

"I guess not.." Patton sighed.

"Oh well, I'm thinking we stab him while he's not looking. That's sure to get him upset, besides you look like you could use a pick me up."

"We? I don't think stabbing is what I would consider a pick-me-up..."

"You are coming along aren't you? Trust me, scaring dragons is one of the most amusing things, you'll feel so much better afterward," Remus led the way through the trees Patton had left from not too long ago.

Patton didn't know what he expected to happen when he had gathered the sides to 'save' Roman, but he certainly never expected he'd be wandering through the imagination with Remus. He knew he could leave, but after hearing Remus talk about Roman and realizing that Roman had been the one to chase Patton out of the imagination earlier, he felt the need to apologize.

"What happened to our clothes?" Logan asked, gesturing to his new, more medieval, outfit. "And us?"

"Well when you stay in the imagination for a while it kinda changes you, literally. I mean, for the 'aesthetic' and all that," Virgil looked in the mirror at himself. 

His old sweatshirt had been remodeled into a cape. He twirled to see it spin before remembering Logan was behind him.

"You seem quite fond of your new look," Logan commented, studying Virgil's outfit with a small smile.

"Oh... Yeah," Virgil blushed and quickly turned back to the mirror, "I kinda like it."

Virgil's 'new look' wasn't that different from his old. His hair was a bit longer and darker. His skin was paler and his muscles were more defined than before. His favorite change however was his eyes. They were mismatched, the right one purple and the left one green.

Logan's look was very different from his normal look, Virgil realized looking over at the logical side. Logan's skin was a dark brown. His hair was slightly darker and made of soft curls. His whole outfit looked like that of a royal advisor. It was a good look.

Logan coughed, as Virgil realized he was staring. Logan didn't look mad about it, he seemed rather amused. Something was up with him.

"We should probably head back to the clearing, let's hope the dragon hasn't left," Logan said motioning for Virgil to follow him.

They headed out of the cottage and stumbled their way back to the clearing. Neither of them remembered exactly where they had come, it was so dark when they were out last. They eventually found the clearing the dragon was in.

"It's gone!?" Virgil's frustration was in no way hidden. "We sleep for like five hours and the dragon leaves? Great!"

"I'm sure there is some way we can find-" Logan was cut off by a roar from the mountains. "I suppose that is our way."

Logan began walking into the flowers attempting to follow the dragon by ear. 

"Are you crazy! That is an angry dragon and you think we should follow it?!" Virgil pulled Logan back towards himself. "There's got to be a better way."

Roman had woken up in a field of yellow dahlias and chrysanthemums. They were beautiful of course, Roman quite liked the colors. He pranced around in the field briefly, loving the feel of the petals tickling his claws. He stopped when he saw a snake out of the corner of his eye. Janus.

He approached the deceitful side growling, warning Janus to leave. Janus rolled his eyes.

"Listen dragon, I'm too busy to deal with your antics right now, go bother some other side," Janus attempted to slip by him, but Roman was not having it. He gave another roar as a warning.

"Relax, I'm just passing through I'm not gonna steal your flowers or whatever," Janus ignored the growls coming from the dragon and began to move past the field, but Roman was not pleased with this response.

Roman gripped Janus in his claws, ignoring his shouts of protest. While searching for a spot to put him down Roman caught the absolute look of terror in Janus's eyes. He's afraid of heights isn't he? 

Roman brought him to a cave in the mountains. This particular cave was great for many reasons, it had a 'balcony' of sorts made out of rocks of course, and it was very spacious. What brought Roman to this particular cliff was the fact that there was no way down. Unless you happened to be able to fly.

"What the hell?!" Janus exclaimed upon being dumped on the cliff. "I didn't do anything to you!"

Roman scoffed, but it came out as more of a disgruntled snort. Ignoring Janus once again Roman entered the cave. It wasn't anything particularly interesting, but considering he now had a prisoner maybe that was for the best. Wait, a prisoner?

Roman glanced over at Janus, for the first wondering why he was even here. Had Patton gone to ask for help finding? No, Patton would have never let their group split up. Both Virgil and Janus were in the imagination, that was strange. Sure Virgil would visit on occasion, but Janus being here too was definitely strange. What was he up to? 

It didn't matter now. Roman had already kidnapped him, there was no turning back.

"You brought me here because you know I can't leave didn't you?" Janus marched over to Roman.

Roman gave the closest to a hissing sound he could manage and walked by Janus. He kept avoiding Janus even though he was the reason he was forced to stay with Janus. Even Roman could see the irony there.

"You are the most stubborn dragon I've ever met," Janus muttered, sitting next to Roman near the edge of the cliff. 

The sun hung bright in the sky above them. It was probably about noon. Birds were chirping all around the imagination. Roman could see his kingdom in the distance, and all of nature that lay before it. The imagination was gorgeous.

Janus looked over at the dragon next to him. He did not expect his day to turn out like this, but here he was kidnapped by a dragon, staring at the imagination in the middle of the afternoon. Maybe he could find Roman from up here. Janus thought to himself. His eyes scanned the beautiful horizon before him. This is something Roman would love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got some roceit interaction huh? About time lmao. I'm sure you weren't expecting Roman to accidentally on purpose kidnap Janus, but here we are. I hope you guys liked this chapter I had a blast writing it! Tell me what you thought of it in the comments, I'll try to get another chapter out by next week


	4. Beauty and the Beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan and Virgil attempt to become Disney princes, Remus and Patton are up to something, and Janus and Roman have an interesting one-sided discussion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is some good fluff for you all to soak in

"There is no way we're climbing all the way up there!" Virgil insisted, standing at the bottom of the mountain.

"I highly doubt we're capable of such a feat, but there must be another way," Logan studied the mountain intensely.

"I think it's a 'dragon only' area."

"You enjoy those Disney films, correct?"

"I mean, yeah but I don't see why that matters right now?"

"How do the princes usually save the princesses?"

"Are you implying we're princes? And Roman is the princess we're saving?"

"It's not exactly a perfect comparison, but you have to admit there are some strange similarities, so how do we get the 'princess'?"

"Depends on the story I guess. There's only so many with dragons involved, Sleeping Beauty is the obvious one." 

"Unfortunately that doesn't exactly apply," Logan sighed, looking up at dragon's lair.

"Actually..."

Roman and Janus had been sitting in uncomfortable silence for what felt like forever. At first, Janus had been muttering things to himself, but as time went on he seemed to tire out.

"Virgil's going to be ecstatic when he realizes you have me and not Roman," Janus was staring off the cliff.

Hearing his own name caused Roman to perk up. He walked over to were Janus was and looked down. Surely enough at the bottom of the cliff were two figures, one was easily identifiable as Virgil. The other Roman presumed was Logan based on his outfit, but it didn't look a thing like him. They must have been in the imagination for a while.

"You can understand me can't you," Janus spin around to face Roman.

Roman realized he had kind of messed up. He could continue to ignore Janus, but he figured that was somewhat pointless right now. He reluctantly nodded.

"Why did you bring me up here then?!" Janus demanded.

Roman opened his mouth to respond before realizing he was incapable. He wasn't exactly upset about that at this moment, he didn't have an answer anyway.

"I suppose you can't talk huh?" Janus rolled his eyes walking away from the cliff. "There's nothing to do up here!"

Roman blew a small bit of fire at Janus. Not at him really, just to mess with him.

"Hey! You-" Janus cut himself off when he realized the fire had changed.

What was once a ball of fire, was now a small patch of flowers on the ground. Red carnations, and yellow dahlias. 

"You're one of Roman's creations, not Remus's," Janus said.

Roman figured his red scales would have made that obvious, but apparently not. Remus wouldn't really like a dragon anyway, they were too regal. Remus would probably create some giant monster, a real monster.

"Is there any chance that you'll bring me down from here?" Janus asked.

Roman thought for a moment. He figured he'd bring Janus down eventually, but he never really thought about it. That seemed to be a reoccurring theme with his decisions.

"I'll take that as a no," Janus frowned. "You know, I have places I need to be right now, believe or not I didn't plan on being kidnapped today."

Roman huffed, blowing smoke from his nostrils. Admittedly he somewhat enjoyed keeping Janus from whatever he did have planned.

"If you're here, maybe Patton was right..." Janus muttered walking away from the Roman.

Roman followed after Janus, intrigued by his remark, what was he talking about?

"Listen dragon, I happen to be here in order to find Roman, so if you could take me to him we wouldn't have to stay here bothering each other."

If Roman could have, he would have laughed. How funny was it that Janus had already found him and didn't know? Wait, why was Janus looking for him in the first place? Did he intend to rub it in Roman's face that he was more important now? Was he going to mock Roman for his earlier behavior? Janus was likely going to try and butter him up again so he could use him whenever he felt like it. 

Janus didn't like the look the dragon was giving him. Earlier the dragon had appeared detached and yet amused, now it seemed angry. Something about Roman seemed to make it angry. Janus began to wonder if the dragon was angry on behalf of Roman, maybe the dragon knew what Janus had said. Janus realized that he was beginning to worry about a dragon's opinion of him a little too much.

When the dragon blew fire at Janus he understood why he should try to stay on the dragon's good side. 

Janus tried his best to dodge the fire but he was rather clumsy and worried about falling off the edge. It's not like being hit hurt all that much, it was a pretty harsh sting, but not that bad. Janus wondered if the dragon knew it couldn't hurt Janus that much, or if it was genuinely trying to burn him alive.

"I don't know what I said to get you acting like this," Janus started, the dragon seemed to be listening, "But if it has something to do with Roman you can spit fire again."

The dragon blew fire on the ground in front of Janus this time. Another patch of flowers.

"Listen alright, I came to apologize for some stuff I said earlier..." Janus paused. "This is stupid, I'm talking to a dragon! I'm just going to leave," Janus turned around glancing down at the ground far below. 

Janus couldn't quite decide if he was going to actually leave, or how he would, but he wasn't about to stick around with this dragon any longer. 

Janus took a very careful step down to another rock, not too shabby. He took another step down, still clinging onto the cliff.

The ground below him was shaking, or maybe he was shaking, it was hard to tell. If he took another step down he would have to let go of the cliff. He took in a deep breath.

Janus reached towards a rock with his trembling leg, but the rock was slippier than he had anticipated.

Remus had been prancing through the imagination with his new best friend, Patton. They were on a mission to annoy Roman, nothing bad had ever come from such a journey.

Patton was lagging behind Remus, not knowing his way through the imagination nearly as well as Remus did. 

The walk to Roman was rather quiet. Remus would occasionally make a dirty joke and giggle to himself, Patton made a few jokes himself. Patton would never tell a soul, but he found some (keyword: some) of Remus's remarks rather funny.

A scream could be heard in the distance. Panic filled Patton as he suddenly ran in front of Remus trying to find the source.

"Relax daddy, it sounds like J-anus is having a grand time with Roman," Remus pulled Patton back towards himself. "They don't have to be the only ones..."

"What! No that sounded like someone was being hurt," Patton chose to ignore Remus's last remark. He had to look away so Remus couldn't see his red face.

"I wouldn't be too sure, it's nearly sunset again! Broman's gotta be feeling something right now," Remus wiggled his eyebrows at Patton.

"How is it already almost sunset?"

"Time works differently here, depends on Ro-ro's mood."

"Oh," Patton hadn't thought about that.

Remus continued walking, but Patton stayed still. Something seemed to be on his mind.

"You thinking about my-" Remus cut himself off when he noticed something behind Patton.

It was a snake, something that had been increasing in popularity on Roman's side of the imagination, but this snake was different. Remus didn't really know what kind of snake it was, but he knew it wasn't a very nice snake.

The snake was making its way towards Patton, who was giving Remus a weird look. Remus decided to move fast before the snake could.

Remus jumped on the snake, it was stuck for a while, but eventually squirmed away. Remus taunted it with strange sounds and pokes.

Once the snake had left, Remus continued to take Patton through the twisted path in the forest.

Patton wasn't sure what had just happened. Had Remus chased the snake away to save himself or Patton? It was crazy to think that Remus might do anything for someone else, but maybe...

Once the emerged from the forest, Patton caught a glimpse of red on the mountain. Roman! He went running after him but realized he was way too high for Patton to reach.

"Half that mountain is in my turf ya know," Remus startled Patton. "If we walk around the mountain back to my side of the imagination, I could get us up there."

Patton realized he could either stay here and try to get Roman's attention, or he stays with Remus and heads back to his side of the imagination.

If Patton went to talk to Roman, he would probably lash out again. Remus had been nice so far, and what harm would his little prank bring anyway. Besides, something about Remus was different. Maybe it was just the imagination getting to him, but... Patton found himself following Remus back through the forest.

The sun had begun to set as they walked through the woods together. A pink sky surrounded them. Patton loved the sight of the orange sun in the distance. The atmosphere felt so alive and happy. Patton pushed down the thought of it being romantic. That was nonsense.

Remus was well aware of the romantic ambiance his brother's pink sky created. A part of him wanted to see if it worked, the other part of him feared it wouldn't. Remus wasn't exactly known for thinking things through though.

"What are you doing Remus?" Patton asked softly, as Remus pushed his back up against a nearby tree.

"Tell me to stop and I will," Remus promised.

Patton didn't say a thing, so Remus moved closer. They were so close. Patton could feel Remus's breath on his neck. Remus's eyes were fixated on Patton's, the sun was setting. Remus wasn't expecting Patton to be the one to close the gap.

The kiss was strange, a mix of odd feelings, but Remus supposed that's why he had liked it so much. Kissing Patton was like slow dancing in the grass on a summer afternoon. Something strangely specific, but it felt right. It was happy and somewhat silly, but it felt warm. To Remus is was like something you weren't supposed to do at that time, but who said slow dancing was only for the moonlight? 

A mix of unfamiliar things, but that didn't matter because it just felt right.

To Patton is was also weird. He expected Remus to be gross (he literally eats deodorant), but he wasn't really. Remus was softer than Patton had expected. He tasted like cream cheese. 

Patton wrapped his arms around Remus's neck and his around Remus's waist. Remus held Patton. They stayed like that for a while. Gasping in between kisses. They were like that for what felt like forever. They didn't know how long it was, the sun stayed perfect still the whole time, never fully setting.

"I'm kinda glad that didn't work," Virgil marched away from the mountain.

"Why? Because we might have accidentally helped Janus?" Logan followed after him.

"Yes!" 

"I understand your dislike for him, but what if both Janus and Roman are up there with the dragon? Are you really going to put Roman in danger because of a petty feud?"

"I- I don't know," Virgil stopped moving and looked at the mountain. "Maybe I should help, it is the 'right thing to do'. But I don't want to help someone who's just going to stab me in the back like he did Roman."

"But Roman could be in danger."

"I don't know it just seems too risky to climb a mountain to talk to a snake and a dragon. Maybe I shouldn't have come here."

"Virgil, if you don't want to help Janus I'm not going to make you. Believe me, I'm not too keen on trusting him either, but I'm willing to try if we do it together."

"I wouldn't have pegged you for a motivational speaker Lo," Virgil smirked.

"I do what I can," Logan smiled. "So what's the plan?"

"You want another fairytale based plan? Or and actual plan?"

"It doesn't really- it can't possibly be sunset already?!" Logan exclaimed looking at the sky.

"It probably isn't. That's the thing I hate most about this place, I never know what time it actually is."

"Interesting... any idea why it's sunset all of a sudden?"

"I think Roman changes it, whether by choice or not I don't know," Virgil shrugged looking at the vibrant pinks and pale blues of the sky.

"When do you think we should try again?" Logan's voice was soft.

Virgil gave a weak shrug before sitting down on the grass. The pink in the sky made the grass look gold. He ran his fingers through the grass. Picking at some strands to fidget with.

Logan sat down next to Virgil looking up at the sky. The clouds looked purple and they reminded him of Virgil. Though the clouds were much softer than Virgil. Virgil probably wouldn't like being compared to clouds.

It caught Logan by surprise when Virgil moved closer. Even more when Virgil placed his head on Logan's shoulder. Logan wasn't quite sure what to do. He placed his hand over Virgil's. Virgil felt his face growing hot. The two of them watched the sunset side by side. Watching the sky change from day to night.

When Janus had fallen off of the cliff he had expected to hit the ground. He had screamed bloody murder as his wobbly legs betrayed him. The moment Janus felt his legs slip he had braced himself ready for impact. His eyes had been shut tightly, so when he stopped moving a part of him assumed he had hit the ground, but a glance upward disproved that theory.

Janus opened his eyes once he realized he wasn't going to hit the ground. He had seen Virgil and whom he presumed to be Logan down below. He looked up to find it was the dragon who had saved him. 

Janus wasn't sure if the dragon hated him or not. Either the dragon saved him because he liked to see him suffer, or the dragon saved him because he actually didn't want him to get hurt. With Janus, it was always a toss-up.

Once Janus was safely on the cliff again, the dragon went to look over at the sky, which was looking more like a sunset than Janus had remembered. Janus thought about thanking the dragon, but then again the dragon had sort of imprisoned him so did it really deserve it?

Janus opted to sit next to the dragon. Looking at the very gold sky. 

Roman wasn't entirely sure what his reasoning was. He had just seen Janus in danger and immediately rose to help. It was definitely the prince in him shining through, or so he told himself.

Roman had expected Janus to brush him off and hideaway, so when Janus had sat next to him he was surprised. He noticed the glances Janus kept sending him.

"You really didn't have to do that you know," Janus kept his gaze on the setting sun. "I probably wouldn't have died."

Roman was sure how to respond to that. It was either a death wish or a very strange thank you. 

Roman felt the urge to change back. He hadn't been himself in quite a while. A part of him wanted to talk to Janus, actually talk to him with words, but Roman wasn't sure what Janus's intentions were. He may be trying to butter up the dragon to get to the prince.

"I know I haven't really done anything to deserve it at this point, but could you take me to Roman? If you have any idea where he is. I just..." Janus paused looking at a now pink sky. "This reminds me of him. It's all fantastical I suppose. Bright colors and all."

Roman wasn't sure what Janus was doing. It seemed almost like he was confessing something to him. Roman decided Janus just hadn't spoken to any real people in a while, so he was going mad. Not that Roman wasn't a real person, he just was incapable of talking back.

"How much do you know about me? Never mind you can't answer that. Did you know I used to flatter Roman all the time? Every time I saw him I would tell him I loved his outfit, or he had a great smile, maybe even that I loved him. He believed me. Whenever I told him he was worthy of love, he was special, he was desired, he trusted me. When no one else believed me he did, but he knew the others didn't trust me. He eventually came to terms with how much of a liar I am. He assumed everything I've ever told him was a lie, but it wasn't"

There was far too much within those words for Roman to process. He wasn't sure he entirely believed Janus, but why would he be lying right now? Maybe Janus meant every word he had just said.

Maybe Janus actually liked Roman's smile, maybe he liked his wordplay. Maybe Janus enjoyed Roman's sense of fashion. Maybe he loved the way Roman jumped with enthusiasm when he got excited. Maybe Janus wanted Roman to be happy. Maybe Janus was here to apologize because he regretted what he had said earlier. Maybe Janus loved him... and maybe Roman needed to apologize as well.

Roman looked at the side next to him a little differently. Janus wasn't evil by nature, he was just trying his best. Just like the rest of them.

"I'm confessing to a dragon? What is this Stockholm syndrome nonsense," Janus muttered to himself.

That got Roman thinking. Beauty and the Beast was often labeled as Stockholm syndrome (it obviously wasn't but still). If Roman thought about it, his life was kind of like Beauty and the Beast right now, a fairytale. That thought quickly died when Roman realized he would be the beast, which is totally inaccurate. Roman would be the most spectacular beauty.

Roman inspected Janus for a moment. He supposed Janus could be a beauty, the scales made him unique. No wonder the townspeople hated him too much. Roman quickly reminded himself he wasn't living in a fairytale a turned away from Janus.

"Where am I supposed to sleep?" Janus saw that it was slowly getting darker in the imagination. "I don't suppose you can make a bed out of fire?"

Roman wasn't sure he could control his fire. He was able to create stuff when he was human sure but as a dragon? Everything was much stranger when he was a dragon. Roman decided it was worth a try though a blew some fire behind him.

A tree began to grow where Roman's fire had been.

"I can't sleep in that," Janus commented.

Roman stuck his tongue out at him and tried again. This time more focussed on a bed, but it also had to fit the dragon lair aesthetic.

A pile of shiny items came from the fire. Too much dragon, not enough bed. Maybe a simpler approach

Roman picked Janus up and flung him on his back, despite his protests. He then proceeded to set the entire cliff on fire. The fire faded to grass, soft and simple. It would work for Roman, Janus would just have to suck it up and sleep on the grass.

Roman shook Janus off his back and laid down in the grass. He wasn't particularly tired, he knew it wasn't really sunset right now. He liked the view though, the beautiful world below him and a gorgeous sky above him. Right now he just wanted to figure out what he was doing, and how he was going to get out of this mess.

Janus landed on the grass. It was much softer than he had expected, it was kind of weird. He shrugged it off as this was magic and he was currently being held prisoner by a dragon. He laid down on the grass. He didn't know how he was going to get out of this, but perhaps the dragon would bring him to Roman. Janus hadn't made it this far to just leave. Maybe in the morning, he could get out of here. 

For now, he watched the sky fade from bright pink to deep blue. He couldn't see much, but the flowers the dragon had created earlier were glowing now, which at least provided a little light. Janus could make out the basic shapes. He felt okay. Not great by any means, but he also didn't feel like he'd die within the next minute so it was an improvement.

Janus was worried someone else would find out somehow. He didn't know why, this dragon couldn't even speak, but he was relieved to get it off his chest. Janus had been keeping it in for such a long time. It was nice to just tell someone, or something, it without consequences. Well, for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? I was kinda scared to start seriously writing any romance into this, but ya know intruality does not strike me as the couple to take things slow so here we are. Let me know you're thoughts in the comments! I love you all so much! <3


	5. Mistakes Were Made

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton regrets some of his recent choices while Remus proves himself to be the only side with brain cells. Virgil and Logan decide to figure out what exactly happened to Roman through another source and Virgil accidentally says something he didn't mean to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! This chapter had to come before the one I'm much more excited about but it was kinda tough to write. Also you may notice that there is now a planned number of chapters, here's hoping I actually stick to it

Patton felt weird, to say the least. After the whole kissing thing, Remus had decided to continue as if nothing had happened. That was probably best for their journey, but it left Patton rather confused.

Patton wasn't sure how he felt about Remus right now. He did kiss him so he knew something was going on, but until very recently Patton wasn't even sure he liked Remus. Now he's kissing him at sunset? It was all very strange. Not to mention the fact that Remus had chosen to pretend it never happened. Patton was fairly sure of one thing, Remus didn't care. He didn't want any kind of relationship with Patton, he just wanted a kiss and maybe something else. Patton should have thought about that before he let himself get involved. He should have just told Remus to knock it off. They had more important things to worry about, but he hadn't done anything. That wasn't true, it was Patton who had kissed Remus so he had done something. He just shouldn't have done it. Why had he done it?

Remus could tell Patton was lagging behind him on purpose. He knew Patton was regretting everything, and maybe it was better that way. They could move on and not have to deal with the consequences of their actions. Remus was quite a fan of that.

They were walking in tense silence for a while. Remus knew it felt much longer than it was, but that didn't make the time pass by any faster. After what felt like forever, the pair arrived at the river dividing the brothers' halves of the imagination. Once again they were faced with the problem of crossing, or so Patton thought.

Remus simply waved his hands and the water was sent away leaving a path for the two to follow. Remus began to walk across but noticed Patton staying by the bank.

"What? Afraid of a little water?" Remus teased, he splashed Patton a bit for good measure.

"I'm not afraid of the water, I just- maybe I should go," Patton was deliberately looking away from Remus.

"Ugh, you guys are so annoying! Listen Daddio, I know you're avoiding me-" Remus marched over to Patton- "but I didn't invite you on this epic quest to piss of Roman just so you could stand me up."

"Well, I didn't agree to come with you just to be mean to Roman! I want to talk to him about what happened, not beat him up! I didn't want to go with you so we could... whatever in the forest or something, I'm doing this for Roman!"

"Yes, we all know Roman loves it when you make out with his brother in the woods! He would be so happy!"

"I- I don't know what happened there, it was a mistake."

"Whatever you say, Patty," Remus said, eyes narrowing at the side in front of him.

Patton wasn't a fan of the look on his face. It was as if he were planning something, and whatever it was Patton did not want to be a part of it.

Remus seemed to have made up his mind on what to do. Whatever scheme he had planned was soon to be a reality.

Remus walked closer to Patton. Patton stood his ground; he wasn't about to let Remus intimidate him.

Remus lifted Patton's chin and stared into his eyes. "But ya know, if it was a mistake-" Remus moved so close Patton was sure they were touching- "it won't happen again."

Virgil and Logan hadn't fallen asleep that night since it wasn't technically night. They sat and watched the sunset both trying to figure out what to do. 

Virgil was still reluctant to try and save Janus. He didn't like him and wasn't about to risk his life to save him. Janus was a cunning snake and Virgil was certain he had no good intentions, but perhaps he needed to let this go if only for a little while. Right now what mattered was that Roman was okay, and Virgil wasn't going to let that snake get in the way of him helping his friend.

Logan hated to admit it, but he was torn as well. He wasn't sure what they were going to do next or how they were going to do it. The cliff was impossible to climb, the only other way to get up was if they got assistance from someone who had control over the imagination. Only Remus and Roman had those abilities. Logically, if they were determined to get to Janus and the dragon they would seek Remus for help, but a part of Logan didn't want to do the logical thing. 

A part of Logan wanted to lay on the ground with Virgil and never leave. He knew he shouldn't, but Logan kind if wanted to abandon the quest altogether. Logan would rather talk to Virgil for hours than risk their lives trying to save Roman from whatever he had gotten himself into. For the first time, Logan began to question if Roman even needed saving.

If Roman was in trouble wouldn't it be troublesome to Thomas? But as far as Logan knew Thomas was perfectly fine. Perhaps Roman wasn't in trouble at all and this was all some ridiculous misunderstanding. 

"Hey, Virgil?" Logan asked. "Do you think we should check on Thomas? We might get some idea of what's going on if we can talk to him."

"Why didn't we think of that before we chased down a dragon?!" Virgil exclaimed.

"I suppose we acted pretty impulsively, I intended to merely see how you were doing and now look where we are. Perhaps we should ask Thomas how he's been feeling recently."

"Yeah... that's not a bad idea."

Virgil and Logan appeared in Thomas's living room. Both returning to their normal looks upon arriving.

"Normally you guys don't show up at the same time, what's going on?" Thomas asked.

"Thomas, how have you been feeling recently?" Logan ignored Thomas's concerns.

"Actually, kind of weird?" Thomas admitted

"Weird? Weird how?" Virgil demanded, furrowing his eyebrows.

"I don't know, I've been really happy recently. And productive! I got a total burst of creativity just a few hours ago!" Thomas smiled at Virgil.

"You're feeling more creative? But that doesn't make any sense, shouldn't he be feeling burnt out? Or at the very least discouraged? Why would he be more creative right now?" Virgil was looking at Logan for answers.

"It's possible his burst in creativity has to do with us and not Roman. We were there for a quite a while," Logan assured Virgil.

"Wait, where were you? What's going on?" Thomas eyed the sides suspiciously.

"For the past, day or so? (I'm not quite sure), me and Virgil have been in your imagination. I believe all the others have been as well. It would appear a certain prince has gone missing," Logan explained to Thomas, who seemed to be more confused. "After the recent events, Patton went to see how Roman was doing. Patton checked his room first and then the imagination, not finding Roman anywhere. He brought this to our attention and we set out to find Roman in our separate groups."

"Oh, is Roman going to be okay?" Thomas asked.

"I would assume so, it doesn't seem to be having any sort of negative effect on you, quite the opposite in fact," Logan noted.

"It wasn't just my creative burst the earlier, the other night I felt kinda odd."

"Odd how?"

"I was feeling super productive like I wanted to get stuff done. I started making plans for the future, I was working out my schedule, I even looked at some courses I could take. I wasn't procrastinating at all, it was good. I felt good," Thomas explained to Logan.

"That doesn't make any sense, why would I be more effective inside the imagination?"

"It wasn't you really, it was like something else was pushing me to be more like you. That's not quite right, this is hard to explain. It was more as if I was appreciating what you did, and why I should be listening to you more. Except it didn't really come from me..." Thomas trailed off.

Logan seemed rather perplexed at the issue. What could be causing Thomas to be more logical if not him? Logan was so preoccupied trying to figure out what was happening, he didn't notice that Virgil already had. Virgil was chewing at his nails while his eyes darted back and forth between Thomas and Logan. Finally, Thomas broke the silence with a realization.

"You guys can feel can't you?" Thomas asked the sides.

"I mean, yeah obviously," Virgil continued to bite at his nails.

"Some of us that is," Logan remarked, straightening his tie.

"Yeah, some of us..." Virgil muttered.

"Okay... can you guys fall in love?" Thomas was awkward asking the question, but what was worse was the way he kept looking at Virgil.

"Fall in love, Thomas I don't-" Logan started.

"Yes."

Patton knew he only had two options right now. They seemed pretty simple, yes or no. He either kissed Remus or he didn't. The thing was if Patton kissed Remus he was admitting that Remus was right and this whole quest was much more selfish than he wanted it to be, but if he didn't kiss Remus he would be telling him that everything between them was undeniably a mistake. What Patton hadn't realized was that his hesitation gave away his real intentions.

Remus kissed Patton again. It was a short kiss, but it seemed to have happened in slow motion. The world around them faded away if only for a moment. Remus pulled away smirking. It was only to prove his point. 

"Tsk tsk, Pappy. I thought you were here for Roman," Remus whispered.

"I can be here for whatever I want. Are we going to cross that river or not?" Patton walked towards the river hiding his red face from the other side.

"I thought you'd never ask!" Remus cleared the river again and the two continued on their journey.

Remus's side of the imagination wasn't exactly what Patton had expected. If he was completely honest it was much more put together than he had anticipated. Patton had pictured a world on fire with dead animals and such everywhere, but Remus's imagination was rather quiet to far. The silence was eerie in a way, something Patton hadn't expected. He was sure something was going to appear out of nowhere and grab him, but it never happened.

"If I knew I was having company I would have cleaned the place," Patton couldn't tell if Remus was joking or not.

"Oh yeah, okay..." Patton stared at the ground, he didn't want to step into something shifty.

"You know what? I'm tired of walking." Remus plopped down on the ground.

"What? Already? We still have to get to Roman! Don't you want to throw your Morning-star at him or something?"

"Yeah sure, but I've never put this much effort into it before. I need a break."

"But, Roman-"

"I get you want to talk to him or whatever, but Roman isn't going anywhere any time soon. You can either chill here with me or try to scale a mountain."

Patton reluctantly sat down next to Remus. The ground wasn't disgusting, but it wasn't clean. Patton kind of felt like he needed to take a shower just from being here.

"Soooo, what was that whole thing about earlier?" Remus wiggled his eyebrows at Patton.

"What was what about?" Patton swatted Remus's face away from his.

"Come on, you and I both know you should have pushed me away. Both times."

"Well... maybe."

"But you didn't? What's up with that Pat, what's going on with you today?"

"I don't know, it just happened. Why do you keep trying to kiss me?"

"First of all, it's not trying if I keep succeeding and second of all-" Remus moved closer to Patton-"I like it."

"Okay well, that's not exactly a reason."

"It is actually, it's just not the reason you want to hear. You want me to tell you that I've been secretly in love with you this whole time."

"I don't know about that-"

"But I don't do secrets. I'm not like the rest of you."

"The rest of us? What are you implying?"

"I mean come on. You're Mr. 'Kissing you was a mistake, but let's do it again' you're not even honest with yourself. Then there's Double D who's been pretending he doesn't wanna fuck Ro for like forever! And on top of that Emo and Robot have been dying to get on top of each other for years!"

"Wait what? None of that makes any sense."

"Daddy you're gonna have to accept that there's a whole lot of not making sense right now."

"I guess..."

"That's not important though, you never answered my question, why didn't you push me away?" Remus eyed Patton closely.

Patton wasn't sure what to tell Remus. He didn't know why he had done it. Maybe Roman's part of the imagination had more of an impact on him than he thought. Patton would love to blame where they were, but he wasn't sure it was accurate. He most likely would have reacted the same anywhere else. The question was why. Why would he kiss Remus?

"I don't know. I really don't. It just kind of happened I guess." Patton admitted.

Remus studied Patton for a second as if he didn't believe whatever he was saying, but he shrugged it off and stood up.

"Okay, break times over! We're gonna tear down a mountain!" Remus grinned wildly as he hopped over to the base of the mountain.

The quick change in attitude surprised Patton, but he wasn't exactly complaining about changing subjects. He'd rather not think about anything that had just happened for a while, or ever again if he was lucky.

"Virgil, how would you know that?" Logan asked.

Virgil purposefully avoided looking at him, "Take a wild guess."

Virgil knew he shouldn't have said anything. There was a deafening silence in the room right now. Virgil was sure the other two had figured out what he was talking about and he wished he had just kept his stupid mouth shut.

"Virgil-" Thomas broke the silence.

"This was a bad idea see ya-" Virgil began to sink out.

"Wait! Virgil... if you're implying what I think you're implying, then I suppose we should discuss it," Logan proposed, clearly indicating he didn't want it to happen in front of Thomas.

Logan probably wanted to let Virgil down easy. He was going to talk to Virgil in private so he wouldn't embarrass him in front of Thomas.

"Listen man, I think I'm just gonna go, I really don't think I've made very good decisions today, and it might be best for all of us if I leave," Virgil told the two figures in front of him.

"Virgil, I have to disagree. We should discuss your feelings." Logan adjusted his tie. 

"What's there to discuss? We all know how I'm feeling, and we all know you're incapable of feeling. End of discussion!"  
Virgil sat cross-legged on the stairs. "Besides it's not that big of a deal anyway."

"Virgil," Logan's voice was soft. Virgil hated how sweetly he said that. He hated how nice he was to him. How much he tried to do for him. When he had left Janus and Patton just to make sure he was okay, how he was constantly looking out for him. He hated it. He hated everything about Logan, or rather he hated everything that he loved about Logan.

"I'm- I'm just not dealing with this right now," Virgil said exasperated.

With that Virgil sunk out. He didn't know where he wanted to go, but it was no surprise when he turned up in his room. It was as dark as ever. Just like that, Virgil was alone again. The adventure from the past days was gone and he was left with his thoughts, regretting everything he had said and done. He shouldn't have said anything. He should have just said no and let it go. That would've been the best option, but he didn't. Now he had to deal with the consequences. 

Janus had laid on the grass for a while. He couldn't sleep. He thought about trying to talk to the dragon, but it was rather difficult given that the dragon couldn't talk back.

Janus sat up. The dragon eyed him suspiciously but didn't move. Janus picked at the grass, tying it into little knots. It was hard to see under the pale moonlight, but Janus managed. He wished the dragon could make some kind of fire so he could see what he was doing, but he wasn't sure it was capable of it and he didn't want to ask.

Suddenly the pebbles around the cliff began to shift. Then they started bouncing. The ground beneath Janus was trembling and he suddenly remembered how much he hated the dark.

The dragon noticed something was going on. It quickly hopped up and went to investigate the side of the mountain. 

Before Janus could register what was happening the dragon threw Janus away from the mountainside. It growled and slowly backed away as well.

Janus finally understood what was going on when that side of the mountain began to crumble and fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Let me know what you thought in the comments! <3

**Author's Note:**

> So that's the first chapter! I hope you liked this. It's and idea that;s been floating around my head for a while and I just finally sat down and started to write lol. Please tell me what you think of it in the comments!


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